In crossover anime, who isn't a childhood friend?

Around eight o'clock, Shihua told the other employees in the store to come to work on time the next day and then let them go home.

"call--"

Now only he and Yuan Qianye were left in the shop. Shihua came out of the kitchen, turned off the bright lights, and sat down next to him with a sigh of relief.

Yuan Qianye smiled, leaned closer, and gently rubbed her head twice with both hands: "The restaurant is about to officially launch, you must be feeling nervous."

“Yes…” Toka closed her eyes and responded softly, “…I thought it was too simple before. I only realized how complicated it is after I actually started doing it myself.”

The atmosphere was gentle and peaceful. Yuan Qianye suppressed the urge to lower his head and taste those red lips, and continued softly, "You know I've always supported you unconditionally. You could say that my current success is driven, in a sense, by my desire to have you. So, you can do whatever you want with this restaurant, but there's one thing I can't compromise on: no matter how the restaurant does, I don't want you to overwork yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand." Shihua opened her eyes, her beautiful, shimmering eyes meeting his concerned gaze. She was deeply moved and, as she answered, naturally leaned closer, letting him hold her in his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, raised her head to kiss him, and Yuan Qianye greedily savored her beauty, their distance once negative.

In the midst of their tender intimacy, Yuan Qianye's slightly narrowed eyes suddenly widened, abruptly disconnecting him from the blissful state.

The hands that had been restlessly attached to Toka's back and buttocks immediately released their grip.

Shika's hazy eyes were pink, her face flushed like a peach blossom, and her slightly parted lips revealed a hint of alluring glistening. She looked at Yuan Qianye with confusion, still not understanding what had happened.

Given this little rascal's style, this shouldn't be how things should have unfolded.

To be honest, she had even prepared herself to be picked up and carried into the kitchen or storage room, and to be slowly crouched down with her head held down.

Her doubts were quickly answered in the next moment.

"Is anyone there? I'll just come in~"

A familiar voice, a familiar tone, and the restaurant's closed door was pushed open the next moment, and Yukino Yukinoshita walked in with a charming smile.

"Yono?" Toka stood up, somewhat flustered and surprised.

"Toka, congratulations! The restaurant is finally officially open." Yang Nai walked over quickly, staring intently at Toka, and hesitated for a moment before handing over the bouquet of flowers.

Shihua accepted the bouquet, a little embarrassed: "Thank you, but didn't I tell you you didn't need to do this?"

"You can say whatever you want, but does my friend need your permission to express my own feelings?"

After speaking to Toka, Haruno tilted her head and smiled meaningfully.

"As expected, I knew you would be here the day before the opening, after all, you are my dearest sister."

She deliberately emphasized certain words, and her face was full of mockery.

However, Yuan Qianye completely ignored her comment.

"Sister Yang, you've come at just the right time. We just finished the staff meeting, and Shihua and I were just getting ready to make ourselves some dinner."

"Really? That's quite a coincidence. I haven't eaten either." Yang Nai looked at Toka: "It's been a while since I've had your cooking. Today is your day, so you can eat as much as you want."

Yes, yes, yes~

Toka's acting skills are top-notch, and her ability to react on the spot is also outstanding. Her panic only appeared for a moment when Haruno first appeared.

As she took two steps toward the kitchen, Yono suddenly leaned close to Toka's face, deliberately lowering her voice so that Chiyo wouldn't hear their conversation.

However, with her keen hearing, Chiyo could still vaguely hear what Haruno was saying, reminding Toka that she hadn't been feeling well these past two days and should avoid certain foods as much as possible.

Today's date is Sunday, June 9th... Regarding Haruno's special date, although she didn't know what it was for, Minamoto Chiya silently memorized it.

By the way, Saeko will probably be at the beginning of the month, Yukino and Eriri in the middle of the month, Rokka in the latter half of the month, and Toka and Kazusa closer to the end of the month.

As for Shiyu... probably because she often stays up late and is a night owl, her behavior is not very stable and there is no discernible pattern.

After her friend finished giving her instructions, Toka nodded and walked into the kitchen through the side door. Haruno followed and sat down next to Chiya, ready to eat what was ready.

As Toka took out ingredients from the refrigerator a little further away in the kitchen, Haruno quietly waved to him. When Chiyo approached, she put her arm around his shoulder, as if afraid he would run away, and brought the already close distance between them even closer.

They could now clearly hear each other's breaths.

"What are you doing?" Yuan Qianye felt uncomfortable with their current posture and realized that this guy seemed to be up to something again.

After a brief silence, Yang suddenly said, "Peach flavor."

"Huh?" Yuan Qianye frowned at her, puzzled, not understanding what she was up to this time.

The next moment, Yang Nai smiled, took out a paper packet from her pocket, pulled out a sheet, and wiped it directly on Yuan Qianye's lips.

At this moment, alarm bells rang loudly in Yuan Qianye's mind! He understood everything! But it was too late to undo the damage!

Yang brought the tissue, tinged with a faint pink hue, close to her nose, and repeated it again with a deeper smile.

"Mmm, peach flavor."

…………

Chapter 055: Two-Way Protocol (7k)

Takanashi Touka doesn't usually wear makeup.

That's right, only during normal times.

When she needs to work in the kitchen, she often takes out the sunscreen she carries in her bag and applies it to her face.

After all, the kitchen is hot and fumes-filled, so it's important to take preventative measures for her skin beforehand. She doesn't want to become a haggard old woman from the smoke and fumes at such a young age.

Of course, in addition to facial skin, lips should not be neglected. Natural lip glosses containing moisturizing ingredients have a natural fragrance, long-lasting hydration, and subtle colors.

But no matter how discreet she was, Yukinoshita Haruno, who had sensed it long ago but had no clear evidence, still noticed it.

When she entered, she noticed her friend's flustered behavior and found it strange. She used the excuse of telling her friend about dietary restrictions to get closer to her and confirm it. Then she leaned close to Yuan Qianye's ear to ask for confirmation.

And so, at that moment, the truth became immediately apparent.

Instinctively, Yuan Qianye reached out and snatched the tissue from Yang Nai's hand, clenching it into a ball in his palm, but it was too late.

Yang Nai's smile widened, showing no displeasure at his rude behavior; in fact, she found it amusing.

After all, this was the first time she had ever seen such a complex expression on his face since she met him, a mixture of frustration, resentment, and miscalculation.

That literary genius who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the rising star in the field of kendo, actually showed such an expression in front of me. This is really... too interesting!

"We officially open tomorrow, so I didn't buy any vegetables that don't keep well today. So today's main dish will be beef. I'll also make you some asparagus soup later." Shihua brought the ingredients to the counter in front of the bar and told the two about today's dinner arrangements.

"I'm fine with it. I'll eat whatever Toka makes." Yang Nai smiled, showing no sign of displeasure.

Shihua looked up and smiled at her, saying, "I wonder who was it that just gave me so many opinions."

"Well, there's really no other way. Besides, I already said I'd try my best. Do whatever's convenient for you."

Their conversation was as usual.

However, Shika glanced at Chiya out of the corner of her eye and felt something was strange. She didn't know why he was so silent at the moment, and was just looking down at the glass on the bar.

He shouldn't be portrayed as such a taciturn person.

So she was probably just as startled as I was by Haruno's sudden intrusion...

"Chiya, steak alone probably isn't enough for you. How about I get you some fries or pasta?" Toka said gently.

There's a saying that a half-grown boy can eat his father out of house and home. This is because teenagers usually have a large appetite because they are growing.

Because of her superior physical abilities compared to her peers, and her regular exercise routine, this was even more true for Minamoto Chiya.

He often eats three or four sandwiches for breakfast, the normal portion size, plus a vegetable and fruit salad and two glasses of milk.

Lunch is the same. At home, it's always three bowls of rice and a bowl of soup as the base. When eating out, I always have to order a main dish and several side dishes, or a super large set meal.

"Okay, do whatever is convenient for you." Yuan Qianye finally responded, but the next moment he stood up under their gazes: "You two talk first, I'm going to the restroom."

With her elbows resting on the bar and her chin propped up by her hands, after Chiya left, she leaned forward impatiently as if she wanted to share a little secret between girls: "Toka, don't you think Chiya has become more and more manly lately?"

Shihua's knife work on the beef faltered slightly, but she recovered almost instantly. Without looking up, she replied, "I don't think so. He's still the same as always. Maybe he's just gotten a bit taller."

"You might not have noticed because you're with him all the time, but in my eyes, every time we meet, he gives me a completely new feeling. It's hard to describe in words, but it's an inexplicable sense of fascination and admiration."

"You wouldn't happen to have your eye on my Chiya, would you?" Toka joked.

“Yeah.” Yang Nai replied in a joking tone, “Maybe it’s just that I don’t spend enough time with him. If we had more opportunities to spend time together, maybe I would have fallen in love with him long ago.”

"What a lovesick girl. Next time I see Yukino, I'll relay your words to her verbatim."

"Oh, that's so mean! It was just a joke~"

In the restaurant restroom, in front of the sink, Yuan Qianye turned on the tap and washed her lips with her hands.

A moment later, he turned off the water, grabbed a tissue from the side to wipe his mouth, looked at himself in the mirror, and let out a sigh of weariness.

It is impossible to guard against it!

Under normal circumstances, would anyone notice the smell on someone else's lips?

Yang Nai actually did it! Seriously, give up being a rich girl and become a police dog. Her sense of smell is simply amazing!

As he was pondering how to resolve the matter and trying to smooth things over with Yang Nai, his phone suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and looked at it, and his eyelids twitched again.

[Yang Nai: Let me guess, the reason he hasn't come back for so long, putting aside the normal situation, is that after destroying the evidence on his lips, he's trying to cover up what I just discovered?]

Gen Chiya subconsciously adopted an omniscient perspective, and saw that Yono was indeed still sitting at the bar and hadn't come over to the restroom to peek.

[Yuan Qianye: I don't know what you're thinking, but I think you've misunderstood something. Before, the air was dry in winter, and my lips got dry easily, so I bought myself a lip balm. It worked well, so I bought one for Shika afterward.]

[Yang Nai: What a cliché excuse. Our great writer certainly has literary talent, but he seems to lack quick wit.]

[Yuan Qianye: I'm not kidding you, this is the truth.]

[Yonai: In that case, let me ask Tohka now, what's the real story behind the peach-flavored lip gloss she's wearing?]

[Yuan Qianye: There's no need for that. We can talk about it separately later.]

[Yano: Okay, it just so happens that I have time tomorrow afternoon. I also have a job that I need to discuss with you in person. Come to my office tomorrow afternoon.]

"Who are you chatting with, laughing so happily?" Toka, who was grilling steak on a teppanyaki grill, noticed her friend looking at her phone with an unusually cheerful smile.

"Oh, it's nothing, it's just that I suddenly opened up to someone I'm really close to... you could say a good friend, it's rare for us to open up to each other." Yang locked her phone and placed it on the table, naturally changing the subject: "It smells so good, it should be ready by now, I don't like it too dry."

"Since you're not feeling well, let's eat something cooked today."

"As expected, Shika still loves me the most."

"Come on, I only came here today because you brought flowers."

In the bathroom.

Yuan Qianye scratched her head in slight annoyance. This was really bad. The secret she wanted to hide the most had been discovered by the person with the most unpredictable thinking and the most illogical behavior. Who knew how she would react next?